Let Them Eat Cheese

At this very moment, the US Congress is drawing up rejecting a plan to bail out the auto industry, while in Italy, the government has just taken significant action to rescue producers of…cheese. The Minister of Agriculture Luca Zaia has pledged to purchase 100,000 35-kilo (77 lb) wheels of parmigiano reggiano (parmesan cheese) and grana padano, both hard cheese produced in northern Italy according to strict regulation. To finance this action, the government will draw from an EU fund created to provide money to feed poor. The plan is an attempt to offer a two-fold solution to Italy’s mounting economic crisis by aiding local producers while simultaneously providing food to the hungry.